Automatic car-switch.



No. 666,930. Patanted Ian. 29, l90l.

W. E. HARRIS 6L 6. J. FALL.

AUTOMATIC CAR SWITCH.

(Application filed May 22, 1900. LN 0 M o d e I.)

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\ PatentedJan. 29, l90l.

W. E. HARRIS & G. J. FALL AUTUMATIC CAR SWITCH. (Application filed Kay 22. 1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

INVENTEIRE WiHiamEHarris W I T N E 5 5 ES @mmflwmw.

GEM F man I n ATTUFQ-NEY UNITED STATE 1 ATENT @FFICE.

WILLIAM HARRIS AND GEORGE J. FALL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC CAR-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 666,930, dated January 29, 1901. Application filed May 22,1900. Serial No. 17,522; (No model.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM E. HARRIS and GEORGE J. FALL, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Oar-Switches, of which the'following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in automatic car-switches for railways and is applicable to that class of railways having a conduit or subway parallel with the tracks, such as cable-railways or underground-trolley electric railways havin g a slot between the rails opening vinto a conduit.

The object-s of the invention are to produce a practically useful switchingmechanism attached to the car and to the track-rails and adapted to be operated by the car while in motion and before the car reaches the switch and adapted to be controlled by a man on the car-platform; to adjust the switch while the car is a suitable distance away therefrom to permit the operator to see if it is properly set before the car reaches it; to provide means attached to the car'for readj usting the switch after the car has passed it, and means for guiding the switch-shifting device and the plow on the car into the desired slot and conduit.

With these objects in view our invention consists of the novel devices and the improved construction and combination of the parts hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 7

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a car-frame having our improvements thereon and also showing a section of a railway track and switch adapted to be operated by our improved means. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation View taken on the dottedline AAthrough the center of Fig. 1 and shows the parts as they appear looking upwardly in the drawings. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a railway track and switch having ourimprovements attached thereon. Fig. 4is a part sectional View taken on or about the dotted line B B in Fig. 3 and shows the construction of some of the parts, some parts being Fig. 5 is omitted to show the novel features.

a sectional view on the line C O in Fig. 3 looking upwardly. Fig. 6 is asectional view on the line D D looking downwardly. Fig. 7 is a sectional View on the line E Ein Fig. 3 looking downwardly. Fig. 8 is a sectional View taken on the dotted line F F in Fig. 3 looking upwardly.

Referring to the several figures, the carframe 1 can be constructed in any approved form, having a front platform 2 and a rear platform 3. The truck-frame is supported on the axles 5 5 and supports the plow-supporting bars 6 6, which are arranged parallel and transversely on the truck. The plow 9 is 'a plate of metal adapted for extending downwardly through a slot 7 in the road-bed and entering into a conduit,and it is adapted for carrying the trolley-wheels in electric railways or the gripping mechanism in cablerailways. The plow-body has two enlarged bosses bored through to loosely receive the supporting-bars 6 6 and has the horizontal forwardly-projecting arm 11, having an upwai-dly-projecting boss 11 near its front end to form a bearing and support for the shifterbar 12. This shifterbar 12 is rotatably mounted in an aperture through the plow-arm l1, and its lower end has a square plate or leaf 13, which is adapted to engage with the switch-shifting mechanism attached to the tracks. v

On the upper end of the shifter-bar 12 is fastened a crank-arm 14, and a connectingbar 15 is pivoted near the end of the crankarm and extends forwardly to and is pivoted loosely to the lower end of the angle-lever 16. The said angle-lever is pivoted on a bracket 17, attached to the car-platform, and a plunger-bar 18 is pivoted to the upper arm of the angle-lever and extends upwardly through an aperture in the oar-platform. The plungerbar 18 is. shown'in its depressed or lower position, the angle-lever being pressed against the stop-pin 4:3, and the shifter-leaf 13 is in the inclined position for engagement with the switch-shifting means on the track-rails. The spring 19 is for vibrating the angle-lever to elevate the plunger when it is released by the operator, and thus to adjust the shifter-bar leaf 13 to a position parallel with the car and the track-rails.

ICO

The tram or track rails 20, 21, 22, and 23 are shown formed similar to those now in general use upon street-railways, and the railsnpporting yokes or sleepers 24, 25, 26, and 27 are made, preferably, of cast-iron and may be of any approved shape.

The switch-tongue 2Sis formed in the usual manner and is pivoted to the rails at 29 and has the downwardly-projecting stud 30 about midway thereon and extending through an aperture in the rail 20 and entering an aperture in the upper end of the outer arm of the shifting frame 35.

As will be seen in Fig. 6, the shifting frame 35 has an outer arm 35' and an inner-arm 35" connected to the plow-guiding tongue 40, and between the arms on a horizontal portion, a little above the center, are formed rack-teeth 36. The shifting frame is adapted to be reciprocated to shift the tongues. A bracket 38 is fastened to the yoke 24 to guide and support the shifting frame. A plow-guiding tongue 40 is pivoted at 41 in a recess in the slot-tongue and is pivoted about midway of its length to the upper end of the arm 35 of the shifting frame. H

Bearings are formed on the yoke-sleepers 24 and 25, and a gear-shaft 45 is jonrnaled therein. A gear 46 is fastened at one end of the shaft 45 near the yoke 24 and engages with the rack-teeth on the plunger 47. This plunger is supported at one end in an aperture through the track-rail 20 and at its opposite end passes through an aperture in the slot-rail 39. The inner end of the plunger 47 engages with the spring plate or strip 48 within the conduit The spring-plate 48 is bent near the center, where it engages with the plunger, thus forminginclined planes on each side of the plunger, and it is provided at each end with the elongated slots 49 49, through which are passed bolts 50 50 for loosely holding the plate against the slot-rail 39.

On the end of the gear-shaft 45 near the yoke 25 (see Fig. 6) is fastened a segmental gear-wheel 52, which engages with the rackteeth 36 on the shifting frame 35.

A lever (see Figs. 3, 4, and 6) is fulcrumed at 56 on a down wardly-projecting boss 57 on the track-rail 20 and at one end has an elongated slot for engagement with a pin 58 in the shifting frame 35, and on the opposite end of the lever is a segmental bevel-gear 59. This lever is forshifting the frame 35 to close the switch after the car has passed it.

Bearings are formed upon the yoke-sleepers 26 and 27, and a gear-shaft (50 is journaled therein and carries fastened thereon at one end, near the yoke 26, a segmental bevel-gear 61, which is in engagement with the gear 59 on the lever 55. On the other end of the gearshaft 60 is fastened a gear 62, which is in engagement with rack-teeth on the plunger 63. The plunger 63 is similar to plunger 47 and is supported in apertures through the track-rail 20 and the slot-rail 39, and the inner end thereof engages with a spring-plate 64, which is similar to spring-plate 48.

In the arrangement of the track-rails shown the switch is adapted to be normally closed to leave the straight track open, and the car rolls over the rails in the direction of the arrow M. When the switch is closed-that is, when the point of the switch-tongue is adjusted to its outer position against the rail 20 the plunger 47 will be adjusted to its innermost position, and its inner end will press the spring-plate 48 inwardly as far as the edge of the slot 7, but not too far to prevent the shifter-bar 12 on the car and its leaf 13 when the leaf is adjusted parallel with the slot from passing without shifting the plunger. It will be obvious that while the switch-tongue is so adjusted the car will roll upon the straight track. To open the switch, so that the car will roll upon the curved rails 20 and 23, the

man on the platform of the car will depress the plunger-bar 18, and thus vibrate the angle-lever l6 and rotate the shifter-bar 12 until the leaf 13 is in the inclined position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 1 before the car reaches the spring-plate 48. It will be obvious that when the leaf 13 is in the inclined position and when it reaches the inclined surface of the spring-plate 48 it will spring and adjust the plat-e and the plunger 47 outwardly, and thus will rotate the gear-shaft 45, and as the shaft rotates the segmental gear 52 will adjust the shifting frame inwardly to adjust the point of the switch-tongue 2S inwardly against the inner flange of the rail 20, thus openingtheswitch. Theplow-guidingtongue 40 is parallel with the slot 7 when the switch is closed and then leaves the slot open, so that the shifter-bar 12 and the plow can pass therethrough. When the switch-tongue is adjusted to its open position, the plow-guiding tongue will be adjusted to the position shown in Figs. land 3, and when it is in the said latter position the shifter-bar 12 will engage with it as the car passes, and the shifter-bar and plow will be guided thereby into the curved slot and the conduit 32. The plowbody 10 is freely adjustable upon its supporting-bars to permit the free movement of the plow laterally relative to the car to follow the slot, which may not be central or at all points equidistant between the track-rails. After the car has passed the switch the shifterbar will engage with the spring-plate (34 and spring it outwardly and will adjust the plunger 63 outwardly, and thus rotate the gearshaft 60. Then the segmental bevel-gear 59 on the shaft 60 will adjust the gear 59 inwardly and vibrate the lever 55, and the shifting frame and switch-tongue and the plow-guiding tongue will be shifted outwardly, and the straight track will be again opened automatically by the car after the car has passed over the switch.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 1. In acar-switch the combination of an adjustable shifter-bar supported on the car and projecting into a conduit, and a spring-plate supported Within the conduit; a plungersupported adjacent to and projecting into the conduit and by its end engaging With the spring-plate; a switch-tongue; means operatively connecting the sWitch-tongueand the plunger; the shifter-bar adjustable to alterternately shift or clear the spring-plate as the car passes the plate, and the plunger adapted necting the plunger and the switch-tongue tooperate the tongue substantially as described.

3. In a car-switch the combination of an adjustable shifter-bar supported on the car and extending into a conduit and a plunger supported by the track-rails and projecting into the conduit, the shifter-bar adapted to alternately shift or clear the plunger; means on the carforadjusting the shifter-bar; aswitch-.

tongue; a rock-shaft connecting the plunger and the switch-tongue to adjust the tongue, substantially as described.

4. In a car-switch the combination of a rotatable shifter-bar supported on the car and extending into a conduit and having a leaf thereon, and a plunger supported on the track-rails and protruding into the conduit, the shifter-bar adapted to alternately shift or clear the plunger; a crank-arm on the shifterbar; an angle-lever pivoted to the car; aconnecting-bar between the lever and the crankarm; a bar pivoted to the angle-lever'and extending through the car-platform; a switchtongue; means connecting the plunger and the tongue to operate the switch, substantially as described.

5. In a car-switch the combination of a plunger mounted laterally on the track-rails and a rock-shaft journaled parallel with the track-rails, the plunger and shaft operatively connected; a switch-tongue; means connecting the rock-shaft and the switch-tongue; a shifter-bar on the car for shifting the plunger and thereby rotating the rock-shaft to shift the switch-tongue, substantially as described.

6. In a car-switch the combination of a plunger having gear-teeth thereon and supported laterally on the track-rails and projecting into a conduit, and a rock-shaft supported parallel with the track-rails; a gear on the rock-shaft in engagement with the gearteeth on the plunger; a switch-tongue, means ing tongue pivoted within a conduitf a shifting frame pivoted to and connecting the switch-tongue and the plow-guiding tongue; means for operatively connecting the rockshaft and the shifting frame; a shifter-bar on the car for shifting the plunger to adjust the said tongues simultaneously, substan tially as described.

8. In a car-switch the combination of a plow-guiding tongue pivoted within a conduit in the road-bed, and a rock-shaft supported parallel with the rails; means connecting the rock-shaft and the plow-guiding tongue; a plunger supported laterally on the road-bed and projecting into the conduit and operatively connected with the rock-shaft; a springplate for shifting the plunger supported in the conduit and bent to form inclined planes on each side of the plunger; a shifter-bar on the car for engaging with the inclined faces on the spring-plate and, thereby shifting the plunger to adjust the plow-guiding tongue, substantially as described.

.9. In a car-switch the combination of a plow-guiding tongue within a conduit in the road-bed and a rock-shaft supported parallel with the track-rails; means operatively connecting the saidtongue and the rock-shaft; a plunger supported laterally on the road-bed and projecting into the conduit; means for operatively connecting the rock-shaft and. the plunger; a spring-plate supported within the conduit and bent midway of its length where it engages with the plunger; a shifter-bar on the car for engaging with the spring-plate to adjust the plow-guiding tongue, substantially as described.

10. In a car-switch the combination of a switch tongue and a lever pivoted on the road-bed; means connecting the end of the lever and the switch-tongue; a rock-shaft; means connecting the rock-shaft and the lever; a plunger mounted laterally on the trackrails and. projecting into a conduit between the rails; means connecting the plunger and the rock-shaft, and a shifter-bar supported on the car and extending into the conduit for shifting the plunger to adjust the switchtongue substantially as described.

11. In a car-switch the combination of a switch-tongue and a plow-guiding tongue; the plow-guiding tongue pivoted Within a conduit in the road-bed; a shifting frame connecting the said tongues; a lever pivoted on the track-rails and connected at one end to the shifting frame; a rock-shaft; means connecting the rock-shaft and the other end of too the lever; a plunger projecting into a con- Signed by us at New York, N. Y., this 19th duit; means for connecting the plunger and day of May, 1900.

the rock-shaft, and'an adjustable shifter-bar i on the car adapted to alternately shift the gg g% FL 5 plunger to adjust the tongues or to clear the plunger when the ear passes over the plun- Witnesses:

gel, substantially as described and for the E. J. OCONNOR,

purpose set forth. T. F. KEHOE. 

